William Hepworth Thompson
Encyclopedia
William Hepworth Thompson (27 March 1810 – 1 October 1886) was an English
classical
scholar and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge
.
Thompson was born at York
and was privately educated in Buckinghamshire
before entering Trinity College, Cambridge
in 1828. Graduating BA as 4th classic in 1832, he became a fellow of Trinity in 1834. In 1853 he was appointed Professor of Greek
(to which a canonry in Ely Cathedral
was then for the first time attached), and in 1866 Master of Trinity College. With the exception of the year 1836, when he acted as headmaster of a newly established school in Leicester
, his life was divided between Cambridge and Ely. Thompson died in Cambridge, at the Master's Lodge, twenty years after being appointed Master.
Thompson had succeeded William Whewell
as Master and proved a worthy successor; the twenty years of his mastership were years of progress, and he himself took an active part in the abolition of tests (in particular the compulsory religious tests) and the reform of university studies and of the college statutes. In Trinity College An Historical Sketch, G. M. Trevelyan
notes;
The efforts of men such as Thompson were fundamental in transforming Trinity College and indeed Cambridge University into truly meritocratic institutions.
As a scholar Thompson devoted his attention almost entirely to Plato
; and his Phaedrus
(1868) and Gorgias
(1871), with especially valuable introductions, remained as the standard English editions of these two dialogues for over forty years.
The quote "We are none of us infallible, not even the youngest of us" is attributed to Thompson and is recorded in Collections and Recollections by George W. E. Russell (1898) and also in Trinity College An Historical Sketch by G.M. Trevelyan (1943). Thompson uttered these words while Master of Trinity at a College Meeting of the Fellowship on 30 March 1878. As noted above, this was a time of great reformation within the College, willingly supported by Thompson. Gerald Balfour
, then a junior Fellow of the College, later politician and Chief Secretary for Ireland
, proposed a revision of the College Statutes. The quote was, as Trevelyan puts it, "directed in a kindly spirit at the reforming zeal of a group of junior Fellows". Incidentally, the motion was seconded by Coutts Trotter, one of the most senior Fellows.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
classical
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
scholar and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
.
Thompson was born at York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
and was privately educated in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
before entering Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1828. Graduating BA as 4th classic in 1832, he became a fellow of Trinity in 1834. In 1853 he was appointed Professor of Greek
Regius Professor of Greek (Cambridge)
The Regius Professorship of Greek is one of the oldest professorships at the University of Cambridge. The chair was founded by Henry VIII in 1540 with a stipend of £40 per year, subsequently increased in 1848 by a canonry of Ely Cathedral....
(to which a canonry in Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and is the seat of the Bishop of Ely and a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon...
was then for the first time attached), and in 1866 Master of Trinity College. With the exception of the year 1836, when he acted as headmaster of a newly established school in Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, his life was divided between Cambridge and Ely. Thompson died in Cambridge, at the Master's Lodge, twenty years after being appointed Master.
Thompson had succeeded William Whewell
William Whewell
William Whewell was an English polymath, scientist, Anglican priest, philosopher, theologian, and historian of science. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.-Life and career:Whewell was born in Lancaster...
as Master and proved a worthy successor; the twenty years of his mastership were years of progress, and he himself took an active part in the abolition of tests (in particular the compulsory religious tests) and the reform of university studies and of the college statutes. In Trinity College An Historical Sketch, G. M. Trevelyan
G. M. Trevelyan
George Macaulay Trevelyan, OM, CBE, FRS, FBA , was a British historian. Trevelyan was the third son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, and great-nephew of Thomas Babington Macaulay, whose staunch liberal Whig principles he espoused in accessible works of literate narrative avoiding a...
notes;
But Thompson and the society over which he presided (1866-1886) were more ready than their predecessors to accept and even to promote changes long overdue. Trinity men were now in the forefront of the reform movement in Cambridge, no longer deprecating but welcoming the help of Parliament to remove from the living academic body the shackles of an age out-worn.
The efforts of men such as Thompson were fundamental in transforming Trinity College and indeed Cambridge University into truly meritocratic institutions.
As a scholar Thompson devoted his attention almost entirely to Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
; and his Phaedrus
Phaedrus (Plato)
The Phaedrus , written by Plato, is a dialogue between Plato's main protagonist, Socrates, and Phaedrus, an interlocutor in several dialogues. The Phaedrus was presumably composed around 370 BC, around the same time as Plato's Republic and Symposium...
(1868) and Gorgias
Gorgias (dialogue)
Gorgias is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato around 380 BC. In this dialogue, Socrates seeks the true definition of rhetoric, attempting to pinpoint the essence of rhetoric and unveil the flaws of the sophistic oratory popular in Athens at this time...
(1871), with especially valuable introductions, remained as the standard English editions of these two dialogues for over forty years.
The quote "We are none of us infallible, not even the youngest of us" is attributed to Thompson and is recorded in Collections and Recollections by George W. E. Russell (1898) and also in Trinity College An Historical Sketch by G.M. Trevelyan (1943). Thompson uttered these words while Master of Trinity at a College Meeting of the Fellowship on 30 March 1878. As noted above, this was a time of great reformation within the College, willingly supported by Thompson. Gerald Balfour
Gerald Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour
Gerald William Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour PC , known as Gerald Balfour until 1930, was a British nobleman and Conservative politician.-Background and education:...
, then a junior Fellow of the College, later politician and Chief Secretary for Ireland
Chief Secretary for Ireland
The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, from the late 18th century until the end of British rule he was effectively the government minister with responsibility for governing Ireland; usually...
, proposed a revision of the College Statutes. The quote was, as Trevelyan puts it, "directed in a kindly spirit at the reforming zeal of a group of junior Fellows". Incidentally, the motion was seconded by Coutts Trotter, one of the most senior Fellows.